Video Surveillance

About Video Surveillance Technology

The ability to ensure safety at home is a major concern for consumers,
and the market has responded with a vast array of options. Any type of property can be secured,
with any budget. For those who just want to plug and play, there are wireless cameras and peripherals.
There are also wired cameras, open source management software, different types of storage for the
footage. There are even options for motion sensors, and other add-ons. A closed-circuit television
system requires either a centralized network video recorder, or cameras that are capable of recording
and storing video locally.

About Internet Protocol Cameras

The first centralized Internet Protocol Camera (IP Camera) was released in 1996. It was not capable
of real time streaming, but instead showed a snapshot each time the camera was accessed. It required
what were at the time, enormous bandwidth usage, so it was marketed primarily to tourism markets. The
first decentralized camera was released in 1999. The camera ran on Linux, and contained alarm, video and
recording functions. Therefore, this camera did not need a centralized station with network video recording
software to operate. Two industry groups were formed in 2008 to figure out how to standardize IP video
surveillance, the Open Network Video Interface Forum, and the Physical Security Interoperability Alliance.

The benefits of using an IP camera system over a conventional system includes two-way audio, enabling users
to communicate with the other end. They also use a wireless network, meaning installation can be much easier
than other wired systems. The data to and from these cameras can be secured through means such as WPA2. Distributed
Artificial Intelligence can be installed on the camera itself to allow the system to analyze images. However,
these cameras tend to cost more than cameras that need a centralized NVR. The cameras can also be accessed
independently of a video recorder, if the network is not secured properly.